


Coming Back Home

by SalParadiseLost



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst and Fluff, Bisexual Lance, F/M, Keith (Voltron) Needs a Hug, Keith comes home, Lance (Voltron) Needs a Hug, M/M, Misunderstandings, Reunion, Seperation, They Get Their Hugs!!, VLD Bingo 2018, Voltron Bingo 2018, Voltron Trope Bingo, Voltron Trope Bingo 2018, happy crying, happy endings, oblivious keith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-01
Updated: 2018-09-01
Packaged: 2019-07-05 05:44:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15857406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SalParadiseLost/pseuds/SalParadiseLost
Summary: The newspapers had said he was dead. His plane had crashed. He had been stranded on an island. And yet, he had survived and now he's coming home.He's coming home to Lance...AKA the one where Keith comes back home to Lance, mixes up who's dating who, and gets all the hugs he deserves.





	Coming Back Home

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone!  
> I'm proud to give you a fic that I wrote for the Voltron Trope Bingo event! The squares that inspired this fic were reunions & stranded.  
> I hope you enjoy it and are read for some angst and fluff!

For the VLD Trope Bingo: Reunion and Stranded

 

The newspapers had said he was dead.

_Keith Kogane died on the 4 th of April. Missed by his family and friends._

They had proclaimed his death on the evening news. Posted his picture on RIP blogs. Declared him a tragedy and written him down as a miserable statistic.

He guessed, in a way, he had been dead.

His plane had crashed 7 months, 18 days and 5 hours ago. It had been some kind of engine trouble and a loud sputtering and creaking turned his world sideways. The machine burst around him and he crashed into the sea.

He had thought for sure he was a goner, but then he kept surviving. He clawed up on a piece of driftwood, paddled himself to a deserted island and fought for his life. Then, one day, a ship appeared in the distance and he found himself rescued.

He hadn’t remembered who he was when he had got rescued. His old life, the one with family, friends and other human beings, had become an illusion after a couple months or at least something that he thought he had made up for himself. He didn’t remember his name or his identity or who they should call to tell that he was actually alive.

When he remembered in a hospital three months after his rescue, he knew exactly who he needed to see.

 

 

* * *

 

Keith stepped out of the taxi and breathed in the crisp night air. It was cool and dry against his throat, a stark difference to the warm, sultry slide of the island’s climate. Crickets chirped around him, but other than that, it was quiet.

Around him, a small neighbourhood was spread out. Quaint, white houses lined the streets, each of them with perfectly trimmed hedges and tastefully painted accents. Street lights stood along the street like soldiers guarding a castle.

He turned and thanked the taxi driver with a quick word. The man looked him in the eye and wished him good luck- both of them knew what he had to do next.

The taxi pulled away and left Keith standing there with only the clothes on his back and a small duffel bag that contained the rest of his possessions. Nervously, he picked at the sleeve of the shirt the hospital had provided. It was second hand, worn, but nicer than the rags that he had been living in for the last seven months.

He had a sudden rush of anxiety and half of him wanted to turn and run away.

Because what if…

what if…

What if Lance didn’t want to see him again?

Through all those nights alone, all those thoughts that maybe he wouldn’t survive, Lance had been the one thing that had kept him going.

Memory of his boyfriend’s voice was his lullaby. The image of his face when Keith closed his eyes was a prayer. The imprint of Lance’s hands on his body a reminder of what waited for him at home.

In those months alone, Lance had reminded him of what he needed to fight for and he fully believed that it was Lance’s love that kept him alive sometimes.

But what about now? Would Lance still love him?

The thought creeped into Keith’s head and made the dark doubt flare up.

After all, at this point, Lance would have mourned Keith’s death, and accepted it. He had probably had a funeral, a small one, and buried an empty casket into the ground.

He had probably moved on…

And would he want to see Keith after all that?

Keith stood in Lance’s drive way, not sure of what to do. He desperately wanted to run up to the door, throw it open and rush into Lance’s arms, but another broken part of him said that he shouldn’t. He should just walk away.

He gulped and could hardly contain his nerves. He should just go up and knock on the door.  That’s what he came here to do. That’s what he needed to do.

Before he could talk himself out of it, he began walking to the front door. Suddenly he was at it, and suddenly he was knocking.

He waited on the step, and heard rustling coming from the other side. Then, there was a voice and the door’s lock sliding away.

It opened, light pouring out from the inside hallway, revealing a woman with dark skin and flowing white hair. She smiled at him, though there was confusion in her eyes.

“Hello? May I help you?” she asked in a melodic British accent.

“I’m sorry, does Lance McClain live here?” He said, stumbling over the words and barely getting them to make sense.

The woman frowned a little bit and looked slightly more defensive. “Yes, he does.” She said slowly, clearly not understanding why he was here at all.

Keith stood silently as he watched his world crumble around him. Here was proof that Lance had moved on in his life. She was standing here before him, in Lance’s house with a silver wedding band around her finger. The woman was beautiful and Keith hated it because she was what Lance deserved. She was what he needed.

A sob suddenly threatened to pour out of him and he choked it back. It sat heavy in his chest, burning him for the inside.

“I’m sorry for bothering you,” his voice cracked at the words, “I’ll go now. Just please tell him that I said goodbye.”

Before she could say another word, he turned and began walked back down the driveway. It hurt more than anything he had done in his entire life and he stopped trying to hold back the sob in his chest. With each step he took, more tears formed in his eyes and they silently dripped down his face.

He was just about to get to the street when a familiar voice screamed his name.

“Keith!”

He froze, unable to take a step further. He desperately wanted to turn around, but he knew that seeing Lance’s face would only make leaving worse. But he couldn’t help himself, he was a weak man.

He turned and almost forgot to breath. Lance stood in the doorway, with golden light surrounding him like a halo. He looked like an angel, a god, something holy that Keith didn’t even deserve to gaze upon.

Something that Keith would never have.

A small part of him broke and he wanted to turn away again.

“Keith,” Lance’s voice called for his attention and he met his eyes. There were tears streaming down his face and it broke Keith’s already broken heart more. “Is that you?”

“I’m sorry,” Keith said quickly, before he could say something that he would really regret, “I was just leaving. It’s obvious you’ve moved on. I don’t want to bother you anymore. I just- “

But before he could say anything else, Lance was running towards him and throwing himself into Keith’s arms. He caught the man easily, and felt Lance’s arms wrap around him, squeezing him tightly. His tears ran into Keith’s clothes and he could feel the wetness against his skin.

Inside Keith something burst and he broke down on the driveway. He kneeled down, unable to stand any longer, and Lance came with him. He was sobbing and crying and letting out all the pain that had been bottled up for so long. He didn’t dare stop holding Lance for an instant, afraid that if he let go he would lose Lance again.

Lance, though, didn’t seem like he was letting Keith go either. His hands roamed around Keith’s body reverently, as if he couldn’t believe it was actually there. Keith felt those fingers trail across his skin and through his hair before they began cupping his jaw.

With a gentle pressure, Lance pushed Keith’s face back from where it was nestled in his shoulder and looked him in the eyes.

“Keith” Lance whispered his name like a prayer, “it’s really you.” God, Keith had missed this. He had missed this face, this voice, this feeling, those beautiful blue eyes that gazed at him like he was the entire world. He had given up hope that he would ever see any of this long ago.

And all of this, made what he had to do next so much harder.

“Lance, I’m sorry I came. I’ll go now.” He said, the words physically hurting him. He started to pull away from the other boy, only to feel Lance tighten his arms, pulling Keith towards him again.

“No!” Lance cried out, his voice sounding panicked, “no, you can’t leave. You just got here.” He was clawing at Keith’s shirt, his nails digging through the fabric, into his skin. “I thought you were dead.” He whispered, the sudden drop in volume startling Keith. “And now you’re back. Why would you want to leave me again?”

The doubt in Lance’s voice hurt Keith. He cursed himself for making his beautiful, blue boy for ever feel like that.

“Of course, I don’t want to leave.” He disagreed quickly, desperate to banish the insecurity away. “But I have to, Lance. You have a different life for yourself now. You’ve moved on.” His eyes flicked up to the stunning woman still watching them from the front door. “You have a wife.”

He looked down at Lance, expecting to see acceptance on his face, but was surprised to see it completely blank. He kept anticipating Lance to understand what he was saying, but when his face didn’t change, Keith furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Lance shifted against him, obviously moving to sit in Keith’s lap. Without thinking about it, his body responded to Lance’s folding so the other boy could sit comfortably.

“What?” he said flatly, unable to figure out what he was missing here. He met Lance’s eyes, amazed to see that they weren’t sad any more.

Lance’s blank look started to turn into a smile and, then, suddenly he had a laughing boy in his arms. Lance threw himself on Keith’s chest and Keith could feel his ribcage quivering with each giggle. He was completely lost and just stared at Lance like he was going completely insane.

Finally, after getting his breath back, Lance pulled back and cupped Keith’s face in his hands.

“Oh Keith, you beautiful idiot.” He said affectionately while combing his fingers through the other’s locks.

“Hey.” His voice a little offended with his instinctive defensiveness rearing its head.

The tone made Lance giggle and he swivelled in Keith’s lap, so now he was leaning back on his chest looking up.

“I missed this,” he mused, staring into Keith’s eyes, “I glad that the isolation didn’t change your obliviousness.”

“Lance,” Keith pressed, his voice definitely not slipping into a whine. “I don’t understand. What’s going on?”

The boy in his lap stretched up and began pressing kisses along his jaw. “Allura isn’t my wife, you dork.” Keith could feel his smile against his skin.

The realisation washed through Keith and joy lit in his chest. He felt a smile start to grow on his face without his permission and he tampered down the hope brewing inside him.

“Fiancé?” he questioned and felt Lance shake his head.

“Nope.”

“Girlfriend?”

“Nah.”

“Friend with benefits?”

Lance laughed at that, his breath warm on Keith’s body. “No. You see, I’ve been waiting for this boy who I’m head over heels for to come back home.” He was staring deep into Keith’s eyes, the humour turning into soft affection. “I never gave up hope, Keith. I knew you were alive and that you would come back to me.”

Keith drew him into a hug and Lance tilted his head onto the other’s shoulder.

“You’re what kept me going that whole time.”Keith whispered directly into Lance’s ear. “Knowing that you were here waiting for me reminded me that there was a home to come back to.”

They were quiet after that, just enjoying each other’s presence after being separated for such a long time. Keith couldn’t believe that he was getting to have this. For such a long time, he had thought of Lance’s love as a beautiful fantasy and he never in his wildest believed that he would have it as his reality again.

Then, after a few minutes, Lance got up, tugging on Keith’s hand to pull him with him.

“Come on, let’s finally get you home.” He said, guiding Keith back into the house. He came with a smile, feeling much better as he walked to the front door this time.

The woman was still in the doorway and she had tears steaming for her eyes. She immediately hugged Lance as he got close and whispered something in his ear. Whatever she said, made him instantly light up and seeing Lance smile made Keith warm inside.

Then, she turned her attention to Keith and Lance introduced her. “This is Allura. She’s been one of my best friends these last few months and really helped me in my darker times.”

She smiled at him, warm and inviting. “Hello, Keith, I’m really happy to meet you. Lance talks about you a lot and I’m glad to finally put a face to the name.”

Suddenly, there was a sound from inside the house and the echo of feet against the floor.

Lance grinned, a little bit of mischief in his smile. “There’s also someone else who would love to see you.”

“Hey guys, what are we doing standing around the front door?”

Keith froze when he heard his brother’s voice and felt the tears coming back again. Lance took a step away from him, revealing Shiro who just looked confused.

When he saw Keith, he breath caught in his throat and he looked like he was seeing a ghost. Keith felt nervous, and he didn’t exactly know why.

“Keith,” he whispered, but then his shock quickly morphed into elation and he threw his arms around his brother.  “You’re alive! You’re home!” he yelled, hugging Keith close.

Keith laughed in joy and hugged his brother right back. His presence was a comfort and an anchor that he had been missing in his life. He was smiling so much that his face was beginning to hurt, but he didn’t dare stop grinning for an instant.

Shiro turned looking at both Allura and Lance. “Look guys! Keith is home”

Lance giggled, “I know Shiro. I dragged him in from outside.”

Then Shiro whipped around to look back at Keith again. “You haven’t met Allura.” He lifted a hand, which Allura gracefully took to step forward. “Keith, this is Allura, my fiancé.”

Suddenly, all the pieces clicked into place. The wedding ring, his assumption, being Lance’s “wife”. His face flared up in embarrassment and he heard Lance laughing his ass off behind him.

Shiro furrowed his eyebrows, eyes flicking between Lance and Keith’s reddening face. “What’s so funny?”

Keith didn’t dare speak and Lance waved off Shiro’s question. “I’ll tell you later, Shiro, but for now why don’t we feed Keith? I bet he hasn’t a food that wasn’t a coconut in ages.”

All of them started laughing and began walking towards the kitchen. All around Keith, there were people smiling and he felt Lance’s hand slip into his own. The boy swung their arms between them and began peppering with questions about whether he named a basketball or if he wore a loin cloth.

Keith felt warm and finally, _finally_ he felt like he was home.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Please consider leaving a comment and a kudos!
> 
> Thanks,  
> Kay


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